In addition to LTE the PLS8-E can do
UMTS
900 MHz (Bd8)
1800 MHz (Bd3)
2100 MHz (Bd1)
which seems OK for France from all I can see in the tables provided in post22 (except the attachment)
Please also refer to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...etworks#Europe which states that all 4 French services do UMTS on bands 8 & 1, PLS8 can do both of them.
So PLS8 can do full UMTS too, in France

cheers
jOERG

Ok, thanks for clarification.

Last question if the post #22 atachment was wrong:
Both can do GSM?

Conclusion if gsm answer is positive: PLS8-E can do, FOR FRANCE, all what PHS8 can do, plus LTE.

Conclusion if gsm answer is positive: PLS8-E can do, FOR FRANCE, all what PHS8 can do, plus LTE.

I haven't looked at the attachment of post22.
Yes all our modems can do GSM. Some like the PLS8-E can NOT do USA 850/1900 GSM bands. (which is quite strange since the PLS8-US can do the US and the worldwide GSM bands)

For France the "simple trick" is:
Do you want LTE (100Mbit/s) which only works in Europe and even there only on UMTS in some rural areas,
or do you want UMTS-global (up to iirc 42Mbits/s) which works pretty much everywhere on this globe?

I don't think that the PHS8 gets to 42Mbits/s. From what I can read from the datasheet it has :
HSDPA Cat. 10 / HSUPA Cat.6 data rates
DL: max. 14.4 Mbps, UL: max. 5.76 Mbps

So I think that it would be better to get a PLS8-E and benefit from the speed of the 4G (100Mbit/s). The PHS8 is really nice if you travel a lot and if max speed of 14.4 Mbps aren't a problem for you.

On Tue 16 June 2015 13:05:47 P. wrote:
> Hi Joerg,
>
> Just to reiterate, as I have tried to get to you on a few occasions, could
> you please help me select the best choice of a modem for the order of
> Neo900 board. I have already paid using your shop, choosing LTE (EU) as I
> live in the UK. Is it the best possible choice?
>
> Many thanks in anticipation of your reply.
>
> Kind Regards,
>
> P.

according to http://neo900.org/faq#networks the PLS8-E can do bands 3,7,8,20 (on LTE, in addition to the supported UMTS bands) and thus will work in UK with all carriers except "UK Broadband" (errors excepted!)

Actually I did a little fancy and sorted https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_o...orks_in_Europe table by bands (click on the "band" column) and those are the few european carriers that are not compatible to PLS8-E in LTE mode (same carriers might still offer other LTE or UMTS bands compatible with PLS8-E, I didn't check. E.G "Sweden '3' carrier" operates bands 7, 20, 38 - the latter not supported by PLS8-E, when you want to use PLS8-E with this carrier you need to check on the carrier's network coverage map to see if the coverage by supported bands is useful for you or not):

I ended up pre-ordering a Neo with the LTE US version. My line of thinking is as follows:
- the Neo900 is expensive, and "one of a kind"
- since it is so expensive, I want to maximize compatibility in the region where I would be using it the most
- since it is so expensive and rare, I probably will not want to travel with it
- if I am abroad, I am probably there on business, so I will want a device "that just works"

So, I bought a Blackberry Z10 relatively cheaply on Ebay for use as a business phone for travel, and I hope to use the Neo900 for tinkering closer to home.

Perfect compatibility aside, for those of you on T-mobile US who would like the global UMTS roaming capability but are concerned about the lack of AWS (Band 4, 1700/2100) on the PXS8, I can tell you that there is a good chance that you can still take advantage of the T-mobile US 3G network with the PXS8.

The backstory to this is that T-mobile acquired a lot of AT&T's spectrum as part of their failed merger. They are using this added spectrum to "refarm" their network so that eventually AWS will be used primarily for LTE, whereas 1900 (Band 2) will be used primarily for 3G. Thus, in many markets, you can already use a device with only 1900 3G on T-mobiles 3G network.

To test this, I purposely bought the international version of the Blackberry Z10 without the AWS bands. I traveled extensively in the past few weeks between metro NYC, Philadelphia, and Washington DC. In almost all areas, I was able to to connect to T-mobile 3G via the 1900 band.

YMMV, depending on what market you are in, but it does seem like the PXS8 is a viable option for T-mobile US users.

Originally Posted by klinglerware

I think many of us are trying to make that decision. It probably depends on your use case. If you never leave your home region, then the LTE option makes the most sense. If you embark on intercontinental travel with some frequency, then it is a more difficult choice.

In my case, it is an even tougher decision. Under most circumstances, I would have chosen the pentaband UMTS option, without LTE, since 3G speeds have always been good enough for me and I do a fair amount of global travel where the ability to roam on 3G would be useful.

Unfortunately, I live in the US with its patchwork of used frequencies. As a T-mobile US customer, the required 3G/4G band could be 700, 1700/2100, or 1900, (bands 12, 4, 2 [Joerg_rw]) depending on the area of the country I happen to be in. As such, I may have to elect the US LTE option (matching bands: 4, 2 [Joerg_rw]) just to guarantee network compatibility. I suppose I can get a GSM travel hotspot if I do want to use 2100 3G data in the event I do travel outside the Americas.

Hi,
are there any news regarding a possible firmware for PLS8-E with better roamig capabilities?
Thx mith

So far no news regarding firmware updates. Latest convo is on https://developer.gemalto.com/thread...dual-sim-volte
Then otoh I can see why PLS8-E doesn't provide GSM(2G)-850/1900 - seems USA carriers more and more discontinue all 2G services. Still a pity since in many other more sane countries 850/1900 will still exist for quite a while.
But there's hope from another perspective: regarding the chaos in USA it's not completely unlikely that some of the carriers there eventually might start using the "European" LTE bands as well